The Turtle Anarchy team
Upon entering the building, the décor of the Turtle Anarchy Brewing Company actually looks pretty sparse. Concrete brick, picnic tables, and only a few pieces of art on the walls don’t really create much of an atmosphere. After tasting the beer, however, you realize that the brewery doesn’t need to rely on gimmicks or atmosphere to get you to come back.
Franklin’s first brewery, Turtle Anarchy, literally wrote the rules on local brewing (Before they set up shop, the rules for brewing didn’t even exist!). The brain child of TA President Mark Kamp, the brewery was an idea of his that had first started fermenting several years ago when Kamp and his brothers Andrew and David decided to start making homemade beer. It was during these early days of formation that Kamp decided to go into business. After a few years of careful planning and research on unique recipes, the dream of operating his own brewery came to realization for Mark on July 5 when the Kamp family tapped their first kegs and created some belated fireworks of their own.
Now, in a span of less than four months, the brewery’s business is in full swing. The beers produced by Turtle Anarchy are currently in about twenty-five bars and restaurants, having expanded from the city of Franklin to the areas of Brentwood, Nashville, Murfreesboro (available at Mellow Mushroom) and Johnson City. As the popularity of the beer continues to surge, the brewery’s staff is having trouble keeping the beer in stock, due to their word-of-mouth marketing being too successful.
Committed to the mission statement of the brewing company, TA staff is dedicated to “to brew flavorful, dynamic, and unique beers for craft beer drinkers.” Completely removing what most consider cheap additives and artificial ingredients from their recipe, the craftsman at the brewery actually earn their title, creating a quality of product that could only be described as “artisan.” This month, the Turtle Anarchy unveils its smoked scotch ale to the taproom lineup; it’s anticipated to be such a popular item that it may be gone before Halloween. And if it’s any indicator to their success, Turtle Anarchy could not be reached for comment outside of the brewery, mainly because they’re too busy crafting great beer to keep up with the demand (Good luck getting your hands on their rye beer.). They were, however, kind enough to supply us with the descriptions of their beers. Check those out, then make the trip to Franklin to shell out a few bucks for a pint.
Flagship Beers:
Aurumglass: This beer is brewed in the golden ale style. It has a strong malt backbone with enough hops to balance it out. However, we use two ingredients that set this beer apart from other Golden Ales: Gambrinus Honey Malt and bitter orange peel. The honey malt adds a special sweetness to the beer while the orange peel compliments it with a citrus flavor and soft bitterness.
Another Way to Rye: This beer is a bold Rye India Pale Ale with an added spiciness from a healthy addition of rye malt. The rye also contributes a nice red hue to the beer. Despite being heavily hopped during the boil, we add a generous amount of hops during the end of fermentation to give this beer a pronounced citrus hop aroma and flavor.
Portly Stout: Portly Stout is our robust stout. It is brewed with three different dark malts and has a creamy, smooth mouth feel. We kept the hops to a minimum so that the roasted malt character could be the predominant aspect of the beer. It is just a solid, straight-up stout.
Current Rotators:
At Wits End: At Wits End is a traditional Belgian Witbier brewed with coriander and bitter orange peel. It is an unfiltered wheat ale, so it has a cloudy appearance. The combination of the wheat, hops, and spices creates a thirst quenching, quaffable beer.
Taproom Specialties:
Ninja Star Stout: Portly Stout infused with star anise—it’s just that simple. The star anise adds the flavor and aroma of licorice to the already complex roast and caramel character of the stout.
Down with the Coconut: Perhaps not the most obvious choice when selecting ingredients to use in beer, but it is just so good once it hits your lips! We toast coconut in an oven until it slightly browns, and then steep it in the stout. Multiple samples are then taken to insure that the coconut has integrated itself into the beer. Once we are satisfied with the result, we remove the coconut and keg the beer.
Smoke & Mirrors: This beer was an interesting experiment. We took dried chipotle peppers and coarsely ground cinnamon and steeped them in the stout. The cinnamon flavor presents itself nicely on the front end while the smoky chipotle peppers become apparent during the finish. The heat from the peppers, a quality not commonly found in beers, adds another layer of complexity to the roast character of the stout.
Turtle Anarchy Brewing Co. will also be participating in the following events
Oct. 6: Southern Artisan Cheese Festival
Oct. 13: Brewsboro, Murfreesboro’s local beer festival
Oct. 27: 2012 Pumpkinfest of Franklin (where there beer will be proudly served)
Address
216 Noah Dr., Ste. 140
Franklin, TN 37064
Phone (615) 595-8855
Taproom Hours
Thursday: •• 5 pm – 10 pm
Friday: •••••• 5 pm – 10 pm
Saturday: ••• 4 pm – 10 pm
Bring your own food to the taproom or get something delivered!
